I am just curious about these two days. It seems to me that we celebrate the same thing on each of these days. Memorial Day was orginally founded ( I think) for the remembering of the civil war vets more specfically the Gettysberg Vets. Veterans Day (or as it was called at the time Armsitice Day) ended World War 1. Today they pretty much seem to lost the orginail intent and basically be the only 2 holidays we celebrate twice in one year. That is ok all power to the vets who keep this country free but I am just curious as to why and when did the “change” take place
Just a couple of WAGs:
Memorial Day is in memory of those who died in combat.
Veterans’Day is in honor of those who served and came home alive.
Second WAG: I would guess it takes about 50 years for a holiday to mutate and start to lose its meaning. When I was in grade school in the '60s, we had to stand at attention at 11:00 a.m. on November 11 and face east, observing a minute of silence. By the time I got to high school in the ‘70s, Veterans’ Day had been moved to a Monday, and the moment of silence ritual was gone. Enough time had passed since the end of WWI that no one felt any personal connection to it anymore. (I didn’t even know Memorial Day was in honor of Civil War dead until I read it in a Cecil column a few years ago.) I understand a similar situation is occuring in Japan, where solemn memorials for those who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki are, for the younger generation, turning into joyous picnics and a day off work. Probably nothing to be surprised about…
If this is a WAG I would hate to see your concise definition for something…
There is zero chance of Congress acting to remove Memorial or Veteran’s Day as a holiday as it would be political suicide.
For a brief period in the late '60s and early '70s, Congress moved Veteran’s Day from Nov. 11 to the last Monday in October. Veterans groups raised hell and got the holiday restored to November 11, where it was one of the few Federal holidays that doesn’t get moved around to a Monday (New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Christmas being the others.)
While Memorial Day is supposed to honor those who dies in combat, Veterans Day is the holiday when the president puts a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Sodier. However, that particular practice didn’t start until after World War I.
So, I suppose that there are two holidays because no one objects to the fact and there is no compelling reason to eliminate one of them.